The invention relates to playing card dispensing apparatus, and in particular, to playing card dealing shoes that are configured to facilitate play of both wagering and non-wagering card games.
Playing card dealing shoes used for delivering cards in the play of card games are well known. In operation, one or more decks of randomly ordered cards may be placed laterally in a stack onto a sloped surface of an enclosed space within the shoe. These shoes typically have a card feed slot at the lower end of the sloped surface through which the cards can be separated from the stack one at a time, and an opening to facilitate manually engaging the top card in the stack to force it through the slot by sliding it laterally away from the stack.
While shoes of this type are adequate for delivering cards one-by-one to game players of a card game, there is room for improvement, particularly for reasons of security and game integrity. Although the shoe is typically placed on the casino table in full view of the dealer and/or players, many events can occur that pose challenges to the integrity or security of the game, intentionally or otherwise, and regardless of whether the game is played for money or fun. Therefore there is a continual need for improvements in the shoes of the general type described above to identify such events, eliminate weaknesses and minimize potential threats to game security and integrity.